: i 


U.  S.  COMMISSION  OF  FISH  AND  FISHERIES, 

GEORGE  M.  BOWERS,  Commissioner. 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PHOTOGRAPHY  OF  LITE  FISHES. 


\ 


BY 


K\  \V.  SHUFELDT, 


Captain , Medical  Corps , United  States  Army. 


TV. 


Extracted  from  U,  S.  Fish  Commission  Bulletin  for  1899.  Pages  1 to  5.  Plates  1 to  9. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE. 

1899. 


; i 


U.  S.  COMMISSION  OF  FISH  AND  FISHERIES, 

GEORGE  M.  BOWERS,  Commissioner. 


BY 


R.  W.  SHUFELDT, 


Captain,  Medical  Corps,  United  States  Army. 


Extracted  from  U.  S.  Fish  Commission  Bulletin  for  1899.  Pages  1 to  5.  Plates  1 to  9. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE. 

1899. 


I 


t 


i ! 


sr. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2015 


https://archive.org/details/experimentsinphoOOshuf 


Bull.  U.  S.  F.  C.  1899.  (To  face  page  1 .) 


Plate  1. 


THE  MARINE  GROTTO  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  FISH  COMMISSION  BUILDING  AT  WASHINGTON,  D.  C.  (Taken  in  July,  1897.) 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PHOTOGRAPHY  OF  LIVE  FISHES. 


By  R.  W.  SHUFELDT. 

Captain , Medical  Corps,  United  States  Army. 


Up  to  the  present  time  very  few  photographs  of  living  fishes  have  been  repro- 
duced and  published,  and,  as  compared  with  the  photography  of  other  living  forms, 
attempts  or  successes  in  this  line  are  extremely  rare.  There  are  a number  of  methods 
by  means  of  which  Ash  may  be  photographed  in  their  natural  element,  with  natural 
surroundings,  as,  for  example,  it  is  possible  to  accomplish  it  beneath  the  surface  of 
the  water  by  the  use  of  some  such  contrivance  as  the  subaquatic  camera  used  by 
Dr.  J.  E.  Romborsts,  or  that  of  M.  Bouton,  or  the  apparatus  of  Regnard.  By  the 
employment  of  instantaneous  photography  some  Ashes  have  been  taken  in  the  air,  in 
the  act  of  “leaping,”  as  in  the  case  of  salmon,  or  in  the  act  of  flight,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  flying-fish.  Such  pictures  as  these  latter,  however,  illustrate  peculiar  habits 
rather  than  topographical  characters  of  the  forms  thus  secured.  To  obtain  these  we 
must  resort  to  the  photography  of  living  Ashes  in  suitable  aquaria  and  under  proper 
conditions.  In  such  receptacles  the  types  to  be  photographed  may  be  taken  either 
through  the  glass  sides  of  the  aquarium  (with  or  without  background)  or  the  exposure 
may  be  made  from  above.  This,  of  course,  would  depend  upon  the  form  of  the  fish  and 
its  habits  in  nature,  or,  in  other  words,  whether  the  subject  was  a bass  or  a flounder. 
Again,  certain  Ash  in  nature  have  the  habit  of  occasionally  resorting  to  the  dry  land, 
and  when  the  opportunity  offers  species  of  this  kind  may  be  taken  upon  terra  Arina  in 
various  situations,  as  in  the  case  of  the  peculiar  gobioid  Periophthalmus. 

The  experiments  to  be  described  in  the  present  contribution,  however,  will  be 
restricted  to  a few  the  author  has  made  at  the  aquaria  of  the  U.  S.  Fish  Commission 
building  in  Washington  in  July,  1897,  and  upon  various  occasions  since.  The  fish  in 
these  cases  were  all  medium-sized  teleostean  types,  and  the  photographs  were  first 
taken  through  the  glass  sides  of  the  aquaria  in  which  they  are  kept  in  the  “ Marine 
Grotto”;  and  afterwards  in  a special  aquarium  placed  in  the  court  yard  of  the  build- 
ing during  the  forenoon  of  a perfectly  clear  day  in  July  (1898) — two  very  different 
conditions.  In  the  first  instance  the  aquaria  consist  of  it  series  of  tanks  arranged 
around  a roofless  corridor,  thus  admitting  sunlight,  when  protective  awnings  are  not 
in  use,  only  from  above.  Within  the  grotto,  this  series  of  aquaria  comes  flush  by 
glass-fronts  with  the  wall  of  the  long  room,  .so  named.  Here  they  are  of  glass,  4 or  5 
feet  above  the  floor,  and  as  one  enters  the  grotto  the  impression  is  given  of  mural 
pictures  wherein  the  fish-subjects  are  alive  and  moving  about.  The  walls  of  the  grotto 

1 


9 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  FISH  COMMISSION. 


and  its  entrance  are  of  tin,  so  modeled,  painted,  and  sanded  as  to  give  the  appearance 
of  having  been  built  in  solid  freestone.  Practically  all  the  light  that  gets  into  the 
place  is  through  the  glass  fronts  of  the  series  of  aquaria- and  the  doorway  passage 
It  is  an  admirable  arrangement  and  admits  of  the  study  of  the  forms  of  many  kinds 
of  tish  and  plants,  and  certain  invertebrate  as  well.  To  a limited  extent  it  likewise 
permits  the  study  of  some  of  the  habits  of  the  forms  exhibited. 

To  one  having  but  little  knowledge  of  the  use  of  the  camera,  it  would  appear  to 
be  but  a simple  matter  to  photograph  under  such  apparently  favorable  conditions, 
but  such  is  by  no  means  the  case.  In  the  first  place,  in  most  instances  the  incessant, 
rapid,  and  often  erratic  movements  of  the  lish  themselves  have  to  be  taken  into 
account;  the  aquaria  being  large,  we  have  in  the  second  place  the  difficulty  of  prompt 
focussing  to  contend  with,  due  to  the  latitude  enjoyed  by  the  smaller  and  more  active 
forms.  Thirdly,  there  is  the  question  of  reflection,  and  this,  taken  in  connection  with 
the  light,  is  a serious  problem.  Reflections  are  especially  troublesome,  as  the  glass 
fronts  of  the  aquaria  receive  them  from  all  directions,  so  that,  alter  focussing,  a careful 
study  of  the  image  upon  the  ground-glass  will  show  these  reflections  not  only  from 
some  of  the  other  aquaria,  but  possibly  the  photographer  and  his  camera  besides. 
All  this  must  be  carefully  guarded  against. 

In  the  early  part  of  July,  1897,  I made  a number  of  attempts  to  photograph  the 
fish  contained  in  these  aquaria  through  tlie  glass-fronts,  and  in  several  instances  I 
was  successful.  Where  failure  resulted  it  was  due  to  some  of  the  causes  enumerated 
above,  or,  as  in  the  case  of  a catfish,  due  to  the  high  light  upon  the  fish  itself.  High 
lights  on  the  bodies  of  fish,  if  present  at  the  time  the  exposure  is  made,  will  in  the 
prints  made  from  such  a negative  produce  areas  of  white  wherein  all  detail  is  absent. 
This  is  to  be  especially  avoided,  and  often  can  only  be  overcome  by  shielding  the 
aquarium  from  the  sun  above.  An  umbrella  will  in  nearly  all  cases  serve  this  purpose. 

The  camera  employed  upon  this  occasion  was  an  old-model  Blair  tourograph,  with 
a Vbigtlander  lens  (No.  1)  (27,907),  an  instantaneous  shutter  of  the  Low  pattern,  Seed’s 
gilt-edge  plates  (5  by  8).  I used  stops  as  any  special  case  demanded.  A tripod  is 
absolutely  essential  to  success  in  this  kind  of  work.  The  instrument  was  set  up  in 
front  of  one  of  the  more  favorable  aquaria  and  focussed  upon  the  part  desired  and  an 
inch  or  two  beyond  the  surface  of  the  glass.  An  armed  plate-holder  was  inserted  in 
place  and  the  “snap”  set.  Patient  waiting  for  an  exposure  when  the  fish  swims  to 
the  place  where  you  want  it  is  necessary.  Care  must  be  taken  in  drawing  or  pushing- 
back  the  slide  to  the  plate-hohler,  and  some  of  my  failures  were  due  to  complications 
of  this  nature. 

The  first  exposure  was  made  upon  a large  pike  ( Lucius  lucius ),  some  18  or  20  inches 
long  and  in  good  color  and  condition.  It  had  a duration  of  about  2 seconds,  at  which 
time  the  plane  of  the  left  side  of  the  fish’s  body  was  nearly  parallel  to  the  plane  of  the 
glass,  and  about  3 inches  from  its  inner  surface.  A quarter  of  an  inch  diaphragm 
was  used,  and  the  subject  remained  practically  motionless  during  the  time  of  exposure. 
Overhead  the  light  was  somewhat  diffused,  and  an  additional  disadvantage  presented 
itself  in  the  fact  that  the  color  of  the  pike  closely  simulated  the  shade  of  the  metal-back 
of  the  aquarium,  thus  rendering  strong  outlines  of  the  resulting  negative  a matter 
of  doubt.  However,  the  picture  (plate  7,  lower  figure)  was  fairly  good,  and  on  com- 
paring it  with  the  figure  of  this  species  iu  “The  Fisheries  and  Fishery  Industries  of 
the  United  States”  (plate  183,  upper  figure)  it  is  to  be  observed  that  iu  the  living 
fish  the  pectoral  fins  are  extended  almost  directly  downward;  and  further,  that  the 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PHOTOGRAPHY  OF  LIVE  FISHES. 


3 


extremities  of  the  forks  of  the  tail  are  distinctly  rounded  and  not  acute,  as  in  the 
aforesaid  drawing.  In  fact,  the  caudal  tin,  or  tail,  iu  the  latter  is  incorrect  in  outline, 
and  there  are  still  other  differences  to  be  observed  upon  comparing  the  figure  of  the 
present  paper  with  the  figure  given  us  by  Goode,  pointing  to  inaccuracies  in  the 
latter.  Here  is  where  the  great  value  of  the  camera  comes  in.  In  time,  with  suitable 
subjects  taken  under  the  most  favorable  conditions,  pictures  of  fish  (as  in  the  case  of 
other  animal  forms),  produced  by  half  toning  processes  from  faultless  photographs, 
will  surely  supersede  in  biological  literature  the  often  inaccurate  figures  that  now 
illustrate  it.  This  is  what  we  strive  to  accomplish  in  our  efforts  to  obtain  the  best 
possible  photographic  negatives  of  fish — live  fish  in  their  natural  element,  with  normal 
surroundings. 

On  the  same  day  I attempted  to  photograph  the  two  species  of  sun-fish  then  in 
the  aquaria.  One  of  these  was  the  common  pumpkin-seed  (Eupomotis  gibbosus)  and 
the  other  the  long  eared  sun-fish  (Lepomis  auritus , plate  3,  upper  figure).  In  the 
aquarium  at  the  south  end  of  the  grotto  there  were  upward  of  two  dozen  specimens  of 
the  former,  while  a handsome  male  of  the  latter  species,  with  three  or  four  females, 
were  living  in  another  tank  at  the  side  of  the  room,  where  the  light  was  much  more 
favorable.  By  instantaneous  exposure  I secured  two  fine  negatives  of  the  common 
sun  fish.  One  of  these  had  twenty  fish  in  it,  all  of  which  were  swimming  at  the  time, 
but  the  resulting  picture  shows  not  the  slightest  degree  of  motion  in  anyone  of  them. 
There  were  nearly  as  many  specimens  on  the  second  negative,  here  shown  in  plate  3, 
lower  figure,  and  published  for  the  first  time  in  the  Photographic  Times , of  New  York. 
These  results  exemplify  what  may  be  expected  from  a highly  colored  fish,  though 
rather  a dark  one,  attempted  under  by  no  means  favorable  conditions,  and  where 
reliance  was  mainly  placed  upon  tact,  patience,  and  the  best  material  that  the  market 
afforded.  It  will  be  observed  that  those  specimens  which  were  deep  down  in  the  water 
took  the  darkest,  while  those  nearer  the  surface  showed  better  definition.  Nearly  all  of 
them,  however,  give  the  external  characters  of  the  species  pretty  well,  and  surely  are 
far  more  interesting  than  many  illustrations  frequently  seen  in  zoological  works. 

In  the  case  of  Lepomis  auritus  the  subject  selected  was  the  single  male  fish,  and 
for  fully  two  hours,  upon  an  intensely  sultry  afternoon,  I was  obliged  to  wait  before 
this  beautiful  specimen  came  into  the  proper  place  to  be  photographed.  The  result, 
however,  fully  compensated  for  the  delay,  and  the  photograph  is  an  absolutely 
accurate  representation  of  the  male  long-eared  sun  fish  of  our  American  ichthyfauna. 

About  a week  after  making  these  experiments  very  good  results  were  also  obtained 
with  the  striped  sea-robin  (Prionotus  evolans)  and  with  the  naked  star-gazer  ( Astro - 
scopus  guttatus).  The  former  was  taken  while  resting  upon  the  bottom  of  the  aquarium, 
while  the  latter  was  secured  iu  two  positions,  the  one  Avhere  it  had  settled  down  upon 
a piece  of  flat  stone,  and  the  other  an  instantaneous  exposure,  showing  the  fish  in  the 
act  of  hiding  itself  in  the  sand,  a very  interesting  habit  that  it  constantly  exhibits. 
The  reproduction  of  my  photograph  of  the  star-gazer  is  shown  iu  plate  7,  upper  figure, 
and  it  is  a very  accurate  representation  of  this  species  as  it  appears  in  life. 

This  work  was  not  resumed  until  July  of  the  following  year,  when  the  present 
Commissioner,  Hon.  George  M.  Bowers,  extended  me  additional  facilities.  Mr.  Edw. 
S.  Schmid  had  also  had  a special  aquarium  manufactured  for  my  use,  and  I had  the 
kind  assistance  in  the  experiments  of  Mr.  Leightou  G.  Harron,  the  superintendent  of 
the  Aquaria  at  Central  Statiou  in  Washington.  I made  a number  of  exposures  upon 
needle- gars,  black  bass,  and  crappie.  With  both  the  former  species  T failed  for  not 


Bull.  U.  S.  F.  C 1899  (To  face  page  6.) 


Plate  2. 


COMMON  SUN-FISH  ( Eupomotis  gibboSUS).  Upper  figure,  natural  size  ; lower  figure,  slightly  reduced. 


LONG-EARED  SUN-FISH  (Lepomis  anritus).  Reduced  about  one-third. 


GROUP  OF  COMMON  SUN-FISH  (Eupomotis  yibbosus). 


Bull.  U.  S.  P.  C.  1899  (To  face  page  6.) 


Plate  4. 


THE  WHITE  PERCH  (Morone  americana).  Two-thirds  natural  size.  Represents  the  fish  searching  for  food  along  the  bottom  of  the  aquarium,  similar  to  the  habit 

it  has  in  nature. 


THE  LARGE-MOUTHED  BLACK  BASS  (Micropterus  salmoides).  Slightly  reduced. 


THE  SPOTTED  SEA  TROUT  OR  SQUETEAGUE  {Cynoscion  maculatum).  One-half  natural  size. 


THE  SEA  BASS  (Centropi'istes  striatus).  Different  specimens. 


Bull.  U.  S.  F.  C 1899  (To  face  page  6.) 


Plate  6. 


THE  PIKE  ( Lucius  lucius).  Left  lateral  view. 


| 


Bull.  U.  S P.  C.  1899.  (To  face  page  6.) 


Plate  7. 


THE  BROOK  TROUT  (Salvelinus  fontinalis).  Natural  size.  Taken  July,  1897. 


YOUNG  RAINBOW  TROUT  ( Snlmo  irideus).  Four  hundred  and  fifty  specimens  in  the  aquarium  when  instantaneous  exposure  was  made. 


Bull.  U.  S.  F.  C.  1859  (To  face  page  6.) 


Plate  9, 


U-6 

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